Honors College seeks applicants for Barrett Mentoring Program

Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University takes pride in the close-knit feeling fostered by its unique residential community, but also recognizes that sometimes a little more help is needed to feel at home in new and unfamiliar surroundings.

“Relationships shape the experience and outcomes of a student’s journey through higher education,” said Ashley Brand, Barrett Honors College director of student services. “Some students will find these relationships among faculty and advisers; however, many more will struggle to forge the long-lasting relationships that drive student success and open doors. Life-changing relationships should be a feature of every student’s college experience.”

One of the many student resources offered at Barrett on the Tempe campus, the Barrett Mentoring Program helps students become engaged on campus and improve their social-emotional support through meaningful relationships with their peers, said Brand, who is not only an adviser for the program but a proud Barrett alumna herself.

The mentoring program, in which upperclassmen serve as mentors for first-year students, gives students the opportunity to serve the honors community, gain leadership experience and help their fellow students.

Applications for Barrett mentors are now being accepted. Information about the program and the application can be found on the program website. The deadline to apply is Friday, July 1.

Once selected, mentors will enroll in a one-credit HON 294 course and be assigned to a small group of incoming first-year Barrett students in fall 2022. First-year students do not have to apply for the program.

Brand said Barrett first-year students will get a lot of benefits from the mentorship program, which will help ease their transition from high school to university.

“This program benefits new students as they have an immediate network of support when they enter Barrett and ASU,” she said.

The main goals for mentors in the mentoring program include assisting first-year students in their transition to college, providing them meaningful connection and support, and helping them network with fellow students and staff at Barrett.

Mentees can get advice from their mentors for anything, ranging from questions about the honors college’s signature first-year course The Human Event to recommendations about what food to get at the dining hall.

The program also helps connect first-year students with each other so they can form friend groups with whom they can study, socialize, attend events and travel, easing the sense of isolation new students sometimes feel, Brand said.

Barrett mentees are not the only ones benefiting from this program, as mentors gain benefits as well, including building leadership skills.

“Mentors are learning about leadership, communication, mentorship, motivation and more, as well as building their own connections and relationships with other mentors and expanding their own community,” Brand said.

“It is extremely rewarding, as students mentor other students and help build this amazing honors community,” she added. “I love seeing the connections blossom and students learning more about their own leadership style.”

Students interested in applying may direct questions about the program to Brand at ashleybrand@asu.edu or Ellyse Crow, Barrett assistant director of student engagement, at Ellyse.Crow@asu.edu.

Story by Barrett Honors College student Alex Marie Solomon.